Swashbuckling in Freeport

[Morrow]

The Story of Bronson, Undead Lovin' Cleric

Bronson grew up on Haven, an island in the Sea of Dawn between the territories of the Empires of Thonia and Atlantis. Haven has been a protectorate of the Thonian Empire for generations. The imperial governor, Severen Navalant, rules the island from Cauldron, a large town built within the rim of a dormant volcano. Cauldron lies in the mountainous region at the northern end of the island. The interior of the island is covered with jungles and rainforests, which gives way around the coast to a broad plain where the rich, dark soil supports a productive farming community.

Bronson’s family is quite wealthy, owning several mines in the mountains surrounding Cauldron. Being the fourth son and unlikely to inherit, Bronson chose to become a cleric. His parents were quite proud to have a son going into the priesthood and expected him to join the Court of Maal, the most prominent temple in Cauldron. In Cauldron, as in many outposts of the empire, the Court functions as a law enforcement and judicial system for the community as well as attending to their spiritual needs.

Bronson, however, chose to join Maal’s primary competition in Cauldron, the Temple of Aster. The followers of Aster, with more concern for fairness and personal freedom than for the letter of the law, often find themselves in opposition to the rigid followers of Maal. The churches also clash over the status of undead, whom Aster considers to be creatures worthy of protection and spiritual care, while Maal considers to be abominations to the natural order. The presence of a small group of undead in powerful positions within the temple of Aster in Cauldron provides a constant source of conflict between the temple and the Court of Maal.

Bronson became fascinated with the undead while studying under two undead clerics of the temple, a vampire named Iverson, and a ghostly cleric named Calmus Vel. He came to believe that he was called to minister to the spiritual needs of undead creatures and began speaking out against the poor treatment he believed they received in Cauldron.

Upon completion of his studies, the High Priestess of the temple, a woman named Embril Aloustinai, strongly encouraged Bronson to leave Cauldron to take the message of Aster to other communities. Bronson accepted this charge and soon hit on the idea of traveling to Freeport, a rough and tumble city-state known for its acceptance of a wide array of faiths. A week later he signed onto the crew of a merchant vessel sailing for the capital of the Empire. By the time he reached The City, Bronson was an able sailor, and was easily able to join the crew of the Albers and begin the last leg of his journey to Freeport. On board the Albers, Aster realized how much he enjoyed the life of the sailor, especially the opportunity to meet and mix with people from all walks of life.

Bronson is a zealot who, at least so far, is unconcerned with his material well-being. He makes all choices in the light of how they will help or hinder his mission. He is very friendly and out-going, but his single-minded obsession with the undead prevents him from forming too many close friendships.

 

[Morrow]

After a short hiatus Swashbuckling in Freeport returns on Friday. I sent the following to the players to remind them what the PCs had been up to during their month of downtime.


At the end of the last session the party returned the Eye of the Sea Dragon to Peg-Leg Peligro, the high priest of the Temple of Harrimast. You bid Peg-Leg and Ned Fletcher farewell and went out to explore Freeport. You soon secured rooms in the Scholar's Quill, a quiet inn off the main thoroughfare in Drac's End. The innkeeper, a matronly old woman named Desi, quickly took a liking to the three of you, even though you are somewhat rougher than her usual clientele.

Looking to turn the bounty of your adventure in the caves of the devil fish into hard cash, you found an out-of-the-way little shop in the Merchant’s District called Falthar’s Curios. There you met Nell, a friendly young bard with wavy auburn hair and a sunny disposition. Nell purchased many of the group’s treasures. She also introduced you to her employer, Falthar. He is a middle aged wizard with thinning blonde hair and nearly colorless pale blue eyes. You hired Falthar to identify your magical treasure. You also sold him the Sea Maiden’s log and sweetened the deal by sharing details of your adventures. Falthar was clearly intrigued by the story of the Eye of the Sea Dragon and indicated he intended to perform further research into the matter.

You all stayed busy during the following month. Sully and Bronson soon found an excellent armorer, an orc named Tureg Irontooth, who operates out of a smithy attached to a large house only a few blocks from the Scholar’s Quill. Tureg does excellent work and soon provided both of you with fine suits of armor.

Nate earned money by playing and singing at several taverns along the Docks and in Scurvytown. He became a regular at the Chumhouse, a rough dive once frequented by Ned Fletcher. The Chumhouse is one of the roughest taverns in Scurvytown and probably in all of Freeport. It is a converted warehouse perched at the very end of one of the shorter wharves. The cheap booze apparently makes up for many sins, including nightly fights and the occasional knifing. Nate became fairly friendly with the owners of the Chumhouse, a pair of dwarf brothers named Garen and Pulma Stonebrake. Although he is by no means a master, Nate is apparently still a step above the usual performers the Chumhouse attracts. The customers seem to particularly appreciate his broad repertoire of sea chanteys and lewd ballads.

Sully spent a good deal of time drinking and meeting the locals. She too became a regular at the Chumhouse. The normally taciturn Garen Stonebrake was positively gleeful when he explained to her the origin of the Chumhouse’s unique moniker. One night (while the tavern was still under its previous management) during a particularly violent dispute between the crews of rival ships, the fighting broke a hole through the wooden floor of the bar and several badly wounded pirates tumbled down into the waters below. Blood dripping through the floorboards of the bar drew a pack of sharks up to the wharves. After the mayhem had subsided (and wagers on the shark-pirate battle had been paid up), the bar was labeled the Chumhouse by general consensus. To this day, sharks are sighted more often underneath the Chumhouse than in any other part of Freeport Harbor.

Bronson spent much of the month, sometimes with his companions and sometimes alone, scouring the taverns and public houses of Freeport for information. He discovered no sign of an existing group of Aster’s, but was able to discover a handful of rumors about the undead living in and under the city.

During the month you have seen a steady increase in the number of ships in port. However, the docks are certainly not full. Many crews choose to spend the rainy season elsewhere. Today is Swagfest, the day long festival held on The Docks that marks the official start of rainy season. Ironically the day dawned bright and perfectly clear. You’ve talked to enough old salts during your month in port to know that the beautiful weather won’t last and you would be well advised to enjoy it while you can. Fortified by one of Desi’s excellent breakfasts you are well prepared to face whatever excitement and adventure Freeport has to offer.

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

HEY!

Bump.

Where did your story hour get to? I was really getting into the swing of this...

(Spider finds an able crew, a rickity boat and a rusted cutlass, then he commandeers a search party for Morrow)

 

[Morrow]

Howdy Spider! Sorry about the recent silence. My xp bribes proved insufficient to get the players to write up the last session, and we gamed again last night so now I'm way behind. I'm going to email the players. If they don't intend to write something up I'll get us caught up this week and give the bonus xp to Dirty Steve.

To tide you over I'll let you know that since we looked in on them last the party has:

• Found plenty of trouble at Swagfest
• Investigated a haunted pier. It turned out not to be haunted but that didn't make it any less dangerous.
• Recruited a new party member.
• Met Meepo the iconic kobold.
• Done battle, in a truly swashbuckling fashion, with a band of mercenaries.
• And uncovered a mysterious cult operating in Freeport.

Morrow

 

[Morrow]

The Story of Catherine "Sully" Sullivan

Catherine Sullivan grew up in a small town on the edge Empire. Her father is a foul tempered merchant named Jack Sullivan. Her mother, Mary, has been ground down to a meek, mousy creature over years of abuse. Catherine has seven elder brothers: Ben, Dirk, Evan, Frank, George, and Patrick. Catherine suffered all man of injustices at the hands of her father and brothers until her father announced that she was to marry Biff Kelly, a foul smelling dullard and an infantry officer at the local Imperial garrison. The prospect of a life as the wife of Biff, so much like her own father, was too much for Catherine. She ran away.

Catherine, who soon took the name Sully, wandered for some time, often pursued by her brothers and Biff. Eventually she joined the crew of a pirate ship, the Red Lady. She had fallen in love with the captain, an honorable sea faring rogue known as Bonny Bill. Her time aboard the Red Lady was positively idyllic. As a member of the crew she was treated as an equal and Bonny Bill showed her more respect and affection than any man she had ever known.

It was not destined to last, however. The Red Lady’s first mate, a vile dog named Dirty Steve, turned the crew against Bonny Bill and lead a mutiny. Only a new recruit named Nate Black remained loyal and battled the Lady’s crew alongside Bill and Sully. Bill was killed and Steve ordered Sully and Nate marooned.

Sully and Nate might have lived the rest of their lives on the deserted island if a passing ship, blown off course by a recent storm, hadn’t stopped at the island to refill it’s water barrels. The ship’s captain took the two aboard and they served in the crew until the ship reached The City. Nate and Sully, unified in their desire for revenge on Dirty Steve soon found work aboard a ship bound for Freeport. What better place to pick up Steve’s trail?

Sully generally holds men in contempt. She often seeks to manipulate and take advantage of them when they underestimate her. A man must work hard to earn her respect and friendship. She feels genuine affection for Nate, who stood by her and Bill during the mutiny and has been a loyal companion sense. Bronson has proved to be a good companion as well, treating her with respect and often admiring her fighting skills.

Sully seeks to honor Bill’s memory by becoming a great warrior and pirate. Someday she will have the skill and opportunity to have her revenge.

 

[Morrow]

Session 4

Sully moved like lightning, snatching her falchion from her belt and leaping onto the stage. The assassin dodged a sweeping blow and turned to run, jumping from the stage and running down the pier toward the water. Sully followed, catching a glimpse from the corner of her eye of Bronson and Nate moving forward to heal the gravely wounded Captain Lydon.


Only moments before the trio had been standing near the front of the crowd listening to Captain Lydon of the Gambit give a rambling speech announcing the beginning of Swagfest. While Lydon explained the proud history of the annual Freeport festival Nate passed on what he knew about Lydon. Apparently the captain was sponsoring a number of Swagfest events in the hope of drumming up public support for his bid for a seat on the Captain’s Council. Lydon was rumored to be deep in debt and the Council offered some of the best opportunities for graft in Freeport.

As the trio watched the large unkempt captain with a mouthful of rotten teeth make his speech they failed to notice the cloaked woman who had made her way to the edge of the crowd until she leapt onto the stage and drove a dagger deep into Lydon’s back.


Sully cast aside her blade to grapple the assassin, and held her for a moment before she squirmed free and dove off the pier and into the water. Sully watched carefully, but the assassin never resurfaced.

Nate and Bronson’s quick action had saved the Captain, and they helped him to his feet. Lydon calmed the crowd, aided by the timely arrival of a wagonload of ale, free for the taking. Lydon quickly announced the beginning of the festivities. As the crowd scattered in search of booze and entertainment the captain thanked the trio. He admitted that some dangerous people had apparently decided that he wouldn’t be able to pay his debts. In the face of persistent questioning he refused to reveal who would order him killed. He did say that he was in the trio’s debt and encouraged them to think of him should they come across a money making opportunity that requires a ship. The trio then wandered off to enjoy Swagfest.

Several hours later the trio found themselves back on the same dock as Captain Lydon was kicking off another competition. The captain produced a large box containing a vicious dire rat. Lydon explained that the person to bring the rat back to him would win the treasure. Then he threw the rat into the crowd. People were running and screaming everywhere, some trying to catch the rat, others trying to get out of its path. Nate and Sully charged off after the rat, leaving Bronson behind.

Nate and Sully were able to keep the rat in sight, weaving through the crowd. Bronson soon decided to follow them at more relaxed pace. They soon passed into Scurvytown and Nate saw the rat dive threw the basement window of an abandoned house. He quickly squeezed through the window after his rodent prey.

Nate’s low-light vision revealed that the basement was full of huge spider webs and several human sized bundles hung suspended in the webs. Nate caught site of the rat tangled in a web across the room, its jaws working frantically as it tried to escape. Behind the struggling rat loomed a massive spider. It’s front legs ended in perfectly formed hands with long fingers which waved rapidly as it whispered, “Leave now and I will let you live.”

“Sully! A little help!” Nate cried and, drawing his rapier, moved to attack.

Sully could hear Nate yelling, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. Unable to slip through the cellar window she went around to the front of the house and entered through the front door. She stumbled around in the dark looking for the stairs. “What are you yelling about? It’s dark in here!”

Nate had already exchanged several blows with the spider before Sully arrived to assist him. Nate fought valiantly, even when the spider bit him and he grew weak from poison. The spider cast bolts of magical energy at Nate and Sully but was unable to stop them from landing several telling blows. They seemed evenly matched until Bronson, who had heard Nate yelling and ran to help, arrived and the tide turned against the creature. The spider skittered up the web, across the ceiling, and down the down another web behind the trio. It began singing a droning melody, but it’s enchantment was not sufficient to stop the group from cutting it to pieces.

The group began searching the creatures lair. Sully found some treasure and a set of clothes for a dwarf female. Several of the large bundles contained corpses, but three of the spider’s victims still lived. The first was an old elf woman named Janis Hawthorne. The old woman explained that she bought fruit on the docks and sold it throughout the city. The last thing she remembered was being approached by a dwarf woman. Janis was very concerned about the fate of her donkey, Jake.

The second victim also remembered the dwarf woman. He was a dull witted half-orc stevedore named Throg. Sully tried to recruit Throg as a lackey, but he wasn’t interested and soon left.

The third victim was a beautiful young woman named Lexi. By the time they freed her the group had lost interest in the spider’s lair and did not question Lexi. She did not offer any information and soon she and Janis slipped away.

The trio gathered up the bound rat and returned to the docks. Captain Lydon congratulated them and gave them a small box full of exotic spices. They decided that Swagfest had proved more exciting then they really wanted, and left the festivities behind.

Bronson suggested investigating a haunted pier he had heard about when gathering rumors about undead in Freeport. The trio had no trouble finding the haunted pier. The unused dock represented the only empty space in an otherwise crowded marina, full of fishing boats and other small vessels. Bronson’s magic could not detect any undead. However, as soon as Nate moved to the end of the dock he began hearing a voice babbling in his head.

“My head! It’s going to split open!”
“My wrist! Why can’t I move my wrist!”
“I need another drink!”

The voices confused the bard, but as soon as he moved away from the end of the dock, the voices subsided. Not seeing anything on the surface, Nate decided to explore the water around the dock. As soon as he dived into the water he once more fell victim to the voices filling his brain. Confused and disoriented Nate swam toward the apparent source of the effect. His low-light vision soon allowed him to make out a large mound of coral growing alone just past the end of the dock. The odd coral looked like a giant brain. Nate immediately recognized the Dead Man’s Brain, a dangerous form of psionic coral. Unfortunately, Nate had already fallen victim to the coral’s psychic lure and felt himself compelled to touch it. He felt pain shoot through his arm.

Bronson was worried for his friend and quickly found a discarded coil of rope. He tied one end to his waist and gave the other to Sully. He then dove into the water. Bronson heard the coral’s psychic lure pushing at his brain, but his will remained strong as he quickly found Nate and grabbed him. Sully then began to haul them both out of the water. She acted just in time, pulling her companions from the water just as Bronson began to suffer from the coral’s confusion effect.

Nate felt shooting pains throughout his body. He knew that if left untreated the coral would begin growing on his bones, first paralyzing and then killing him over a period of several days. Bronson and Sully helped Nate along as they made their way to the Temple of Harrimast. They found father Peg-Leg in the temple. Father Peg-Leg agreed to help Nate, explaining that they would have to return in the morning when he had prepared the proper spell.

Before the trio returned to the Scholar’s Quill, Father Peg-Leg mentioned that he had a friend, a young cleric from the Scriptorium of Tinel, god of knowledge, who was in need of people with their particular talents. The trio, in need of funds, quickly agreed to meet with the young cleric the following day.

Nate, Bronson, and Sully then began making their way back toward their rooms at the Scholar's Quill. Nate could look forward to a restless and painful night, but he would live. The party could feel some sense of accomplishment. They had destroyed a dangerous creature preying on the citizens of Freeport, they had recovered the creature's treasure, and tomorrow they would likely have a new job. Not a bad day's work. Not bad at all.

 

[Morrow]

Ack! I've got to get back to this! In my defense, I was on vacation for three weeks. Besides, my players were supposed to write up at least session 5, the scurvy dogs.

Session 7 is tonight. Watch this space for updates next week.

Morrow

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

It will be great to see this back up and running.

Love the haunted pier image - still think this setting kicks ass (I'm somewhat swaying towards maritime SH's and literature in general). Notably looking forward to the swashbuckling combat... it's The Princess Bride on loop in my head.

Awaiting updates!

Spider J

 

[Morrow]

Amusingly enough, the party never returned to the 'haunted pier'. I think their attitude is, "Boy that sucked. Let's not do that again."

I think that the Dead Man's brain may sit quietly in the bay, slowly absorbing more victims for a long time to come. Many (game) years down the road, their all going to be famous and wealthy pirates and one day they'll be sailing their beautiful pirate ship into Freeport harbor and the hull will be torn open on a gigantic coral reef that has grown up along the dock. Then it will use it's vast psionic powers to enslave the entire city.

Okay, that doesn't make any sense at all, but it does make me chuckle. We DMs need to take our laughs where we can get them.

Morrow

 

[Morrow]

Session 5 - Death in Freeport

The following morning the trio returned to the Temple of Harrimast. They made small talk with Father Peg-Leg while he worked his magic and promised to meet his friend for lunch at the Dented Helm.

The arrived at the Helm and met Tavarii, a drinking companion of Sully’s. The group, apparently believing that an ability to hold one’s liquor was the only prerequisite for a career of killing things and stealing their life savings immediately welcomed him into their ranks.

They had arrived just in time to here the tail end of a tall tale told by a local personality, Erky Timbers, an adventurous gnome who runs the local temple dedicated to Zheenkeef, goddess of wine and madness. Apparently the little guy had been with a group of explorers up near the north end of the island when they were ambushed by a tribe of cannibalistic kobolds. The rest of his party were killed and Erky was destined for the stewpot when he was rescued by yet another group of adventurers. (Everyone knows that adventurers breed faster than rabbits, they have to, what with the mortality rate and all.) This new group rescued Erky and slaughtered the kobolds.

A couple of his rescuers had come with Erky to the Helm, apparently to bask in the disinterest of the regulars and buy everyone drinks. Elena Mere is a beautiful black woman of the bardic persuasion. Her companion, Tessa Corwyn is the requisite firey haired, ill tempered warrior of the bunch. Tessa held a leash attached to the neck of a kobold crouching on the floor next to her. Apparently the pathetic looking creature was the only survivor of his tribe. Originally the keeper of some large lizard that his dragon worshiping kinsmen revered, Tessa had decided to keep the little creature around for his comic value. Erky and company were soon joined by Mogan Erendyl, the group’s foppish spellslinger. Tavari eyed Morgan carefully, apparently wanting to make sure that he’d recognize that elvish rump anywhere.

Shortly thereafter, our heroes were joined by their new employer, Brother Egil of the Temple of Tinel, god of knowledge and magic. Apparently Brother Egil’s friend, a librarian named Lucius had gone missing. Brother Egil’s order swears a vow of poverty, so he can’t offer much. Lucky for him the group figures that the job will involve killing someone and taking there stuff, therefore paying for itself.

Apparently Lucius has a screw loose. Several years ago he had some kind of breakdown that totally altered his personality. He forgot his previous life and started using the temple as his own personal library. Eventually the High Priest got fed up and gave Lucius his walking papers. Shortly thereafter he disappeared from Freeport all together.

Five years later Lucius returned, his old personality restored, with no memory of his years spent wandering. The High Priest seemed disinclined to give Lucius his old job back until he offered a bribe- a sizeable collection of books he had gathered on his wanderings. Lucius returned to his old job and lived quietly until recently when he began having terrible nightmares of vast ancient cities, unspeakable rituals, and half seen tentacled creatures. And now he had disappeared.

Both Egil and the party seemed content to ignore the possibility that Lucius was simply a nut. Egil provided directions to Lucius’ home, said he could be reached at the temple, and left the party to begin their investigations.